Counterfeit, falsified and substandard medicines are dangerous. They may have too much active ingredient or not enough; they may be composed entirely of unidentified ingredients; they may consist of inert or even toxic substances. What they all have in common is that they are drugs that are not what they appear to be, and they are a threat to the health of people around the world. When patients rely on these drugs, they don’t get the treatment that they need, putting their health at risk. These fakes also contribute to larger public health problems, such as drug-resistant disease, and they undermine the trust people have in healthcare systems.

Combating this threat requires cooperation from many different parts of society – law enforcement, regulators, industry, consumer protection groups, medical practitioners, and patients themselves. Below are links to groups inside and outside of the U.S. government, all approaching the issue of counterfeit and substandard medications from different perspectives, all working to ensure the safety of patients in the United States and abroad.